On August 13, 2010, Professor Eric Roberts and Mehran Sahami, Associate Chair of the Department of Computer Science, sent the Stanford [CS198](https://cs198.stanford.edu/cs106/) alumn list an email inviting them to a reunion of undergratuate section leaders, TAs and program coordinators -- the first such reunion in 40 years of teaching introductory CS106 classes.

> *For the last 40 years, the CS106 classes have introduced many generations of Stanford students to the wonders of computer science. For more than two decades, the CS198 program has been a critical part of that introduction, as undergraduate section leaders guide each new generation through both the challenges and joys of programming. By being part of that program, you have helped thousands of students master those mysteries and, in a very real way, enable Silicon Valley to create all of what modern technology has made possible.*

> *On Thursday, September 23 from 5:00-7:00pm, we will host a reunion of CS198 section leaders, TAs, and program coordinators throughout the history of the program. This event will give everyone an opportunity to catch up on what we've all been doing and, in particular, for you to see what's up with Stanford's Computer Science program these days. We've got an exciting new curriculum that is generating a lot of excitement, both at Stanford and elsewhere. And the CS106 students continue to amaze us with their enthusiasm, creativity, and talent. The contest entries and special projects just get better and better.*

> *Please join us for a reception on the lawn of the Gates Building on the Stanford campus. If you can come -- and we hope you can -- please RSVP by September 16 to Nikkie Salgado*

> *so that we can know how many of you are coming. And please spread the word so we will have a good showing of people who don't often get back to campus!*

> *P.S. For those of you who haven't been on campus in recent years, the Engineering side of campus has changed a lot. A map of the Gates building is available [[here](http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=110111558892489736137.00048d7e44f71c2d185f7&ll=37.431251,-122.173505&spn=0.005333,0.009506&z=17)]*

Much of my Stanford computer science experience was shaped by being a section leader for the CS106 classes, and virtually every friend who graduated CS at Stanford was a part of the program. I absolutely had to go (luckily, I was scheduled to be in the country).

The reunion turned out to be a pretty big deal. Section leaders flew in from various parts of the country (I hadn't seen Munira Rahemtulla, Bryan Rollins or Andy Maag in many years), and the resulting group was a [Who's Who of technology leaders](https://cs198.stanford.edu/cs106/Alumni.aspx) in Silicon Valley and beyond. Even Schrep managed to make it, despite having to deal with [an outage at Facebook](http://twitter.com/schrep/status/25357442797).

As I looked around -- amazed, really -- I wondered how many people in the group had transitioned away from software-related jobs (aside from me, that is). It looked like no one (else) had, and I sort of felt out of place.

Getting everyone together for the above photo was inspired by the tattered existence of this old photo from [Apple's Advanced Technology Group (ATG)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Technology_Group) in 1997:

We fondly remember being told that ATG was being axed at the end of the summer and spent much of it playing Starfox 64. At the reunion, we found out that Schrep, who was in the QuickDraw group, was told a similar thing. If only we had know during that summer -- we could have used another Starfox player.

In any case, it was really, really nice to get to see so many familiar faces after such a long time. Mehran and Eric should organize another reunion before another 40 years passes!